Online Assessments
Your teacher, school, or district may set up assessments to be taken online in Focus.
When an assessment is available for you to complete in Focus, a link will display in the Alerts block on the Portal.
1. Click the link to open the assessment.
If the assessment requires the use of the lockdown browser, you will be prompted to download the Lockdown Browser OEM the first time you access an assessment with the lockdown browser enabled. The lockdown browser will not allow you to minimize or move the browser window. Other programs may need to be closed before the lockdown browser allows you to begin the assessment.
If the assessment is password protected, you will be prompted to enter the password provided to you by your teacher or other staff member.
After clicking the link, the assessment is opened. There may be a customized message on the first page of the assessment.
2. Click Start to begin the assessment.
The first item on the assessment is displayed.
If there is a reading time set for the assessment, you may read through the items on the assessment, but you will not be able to answer any items until the reading time has elapsed.
If there is a time limit for completing the assessment, the time that has elapsed will display next to the total time allowed. Depending on the assessment setup, you may be forced to submit the assessment when the time allowed has elapsed.
Depending on the setup of the assessment, some features and tools may not be available for use.
Some items on the assessment may have accompanying features that assist with answering the question, such as a ruler, calculator, video player, audio player, or reading passage.
Example of reading passage:
3. To navigate to a different item on the assessment, click the Next and Previous arrow buttons at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
4. Click an item number in the list to navigate directly to that item.
5. To expand the menu of assessment options, click the arrow at the bottom of the menu.
6. Click Collapse menu to return to the collapsed menu.
7. To pause the assessment, click the Pause icon at the top-right corner of the screen.
The assessment will pause and items on the assessment will be hidden.
8. To return to the assessment, click Resume.
9. To save and exit the assessment, click the Save/Exit icon.
10. Click Resume to return to the assessment, or Exit to leave the assessment.
The link to access the assessment will remain on the Portal as long as you are within the date and time window that was set on the assessment.
11. To view the assessment in full screen mode, click the Full Screen icon.
12. To exit full screen mode, press the Esc key on your keyboard or click the icon again.
13. To access accessibility options, click the Accessibility icon.
The Accessibility options include the ability to change the background and foreground colors of the assessment, adjust the font size, and zoom in and out.
14. To access the calculator, click the Calculator icon.
The calculator can be clicked and dragged to the desired location on the screen.
15. Click the X to hide the calculator.
16. To flag an item, click the Flag item icon.
A blue flag icon will display on the item in the menu. Flagging an item is useful if you want to return to the item at a later point in the assessment. When using the review feature in the assessment, you can view items that you have flagged.
17. To unflag the item, click the flag icon again.
18. To use the notepad, click the Notepad icon.
The notepad can be collapsed, expanded, or clicked and dragged around the screen as needed. The notepad will remain on the screen as you navigate to other items on the assessment.
19. After you are finished using the notepad, click the X to close it. Text entered on the notepad remains saved on the notepad after closing it, unless the text is deleted.
20. To add a sticky note, click the Add sticky note icon.
The sticky note can be clicked and dragged around the screen, can be collapsed, and can be deleted. The sticky note will remain on the item where it was placed as you navigate to other items on the assessment.
21. To hide all sticky notes, click the Hide sticky notes icon. To show all sticky notes, click the icon again.
22. To draw on an item in the assessment, click the Drawing mode icon.
Use the drawing tools at the top of the screen to erase, change color, add or remove the dotted grid, or close the drawing mode.
23. To hide all drawings, click the Hide drawings icon. To view all drawings, click the icon again.
24. To review the assessment, click the Review icon.
A Review button also displays on the last item of the assessment.
On the Review screen, each item is displayed as a block. Any flagged items display the flag icon instead of the item number on the block. Any unattempted (unanswered) items are underlined in blue.
25. Click an item block to navigate to that item on the assessment.
26. To view only flagged items on the Review screen, select the Flagged check box.
27. To view only unattempted items on the Review screen, select the Unattempted check box.
28. To view only partially attempted items on the Review screen, select the Partially Attempted check box.
Options will be grayed out if not applicable.
29. After reviewing the items on the assessment, and you are ready to submit the assessment, click Finish.
30. Click Yes to submit.
31. Click Close.
The Submit Activity screen may contain a customized message.
After the assessment is submitted, the link to the assessment on the Portal will be removed unless retakes of the assessment are allowed. The link to retake the assessment may be available immediately. If retakes are only allowed after a set amount of time has passed, the link will be available once that amount of time has passed.
If the assessment contained all auto-graded items, then your score will be available for viewing immediately after completing the assessment. If the assessment contained any items that must be graded by the teacher, such as essay questions, your score will be available once those items are scored and submitted by the teacher. Comments entered by your teacher on the assessment are also viewable once the assessment is reviewed and submitted by the teacher.
Scores and comments are only viewable for assessments assigned by a teacher. Scores for school or district assessments are not available for students to review.
Example from Grades (Assignments) screen where the score for the assessment is not yet available:
Example from the Grades (Assignments) screen once all items have been scored and submitted by the teacher:
1. To view your scores and any comments, click View Test on the assignment.
In the Score column at the top of the pop-up window, your overall score is displayed. In the other columns, each item on the assessment is represented by a colored dot. Green indicates your answer was correct, red indicates your answer was incorrect, yellow indicates your answer was partially correct, and gray indicates you did not answer the item.
2. Hover over a dot to view the score for that item and the time spent on that item.
Each item on the assessment is listed, including the question content, answer options, and your answer selections. Any comments entered by the teacher are available beneath each item.
3. Click the X to close the pop-up window.
